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Recession is detrimental to Branding, or is it?

Brands & recession are quite interesting if seen together. Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not at all in favor of recession (be it economic or my blog post droughts), but something interesting happens to most brands during recession and more so on how they are handled during those times.

One of the most common branding phenomenon we often observe during recessionary period is that marketing/branding costs are reduced which exposes the brands to higher risks of becoming less visible amongst others.

I believe this is not the right strategy. Infact it should be the other way round viz. instead of cutting the valuable market research budget, companies should think about how to know more about consumers on how they are responding and redefining the value of brands.

Also it is easier for a brand to gain traction in the marketplace by increasing advertising during recession while competitors are cutting back. This will have a two-fold effect- Improving market share and better ROI (return on investment) at lower cost than during sound economic conditions.

Caveat: To employ this strategy, the company’s management should follow a contrarian strategy of investing in marketing programs while controlling other expenses.